Microsoft Corp. said it is opening its second research laboratory =
outside the United States, this one in Beijing. The company plans to =
invest about $80 million over the next six years in the facility.=20

"China is the most populous country in the world, and the use of =
computers there is growing rapidly," Rick Rashid, vice president of =
Microsoft Research, said in a statement. "To make the experience =
compelling, we need to address many challenges to adapt computing and =
software to the Chinese marketplace."=20

The Chinese research group, called Microsoft Research, China, will =
initially focus on how people interact with computers. "Long-term, we =
want to enable computers to see, listen, speak and learn," said Kai-Fu =
Lee, a Microsoft researcher who will head up the program in China.

Microsoft Corp. said it is opening its =
second=20
research laboratory outside the United States, this one in Beijing. The =
company=20
plans to invest about $80 million over the next six years in the =
facility.=20

"China is the most populous country in the world, and the use of =
computers there is growing rapidly," Rick Rashid, vice president of =
Microsoft Research, said in a statement. "To make the experience=20
compelling, we need to address many challenges to adapt computing and =
software=20
to the Chinese marketplace."=20

The Chinese research group, called Microsoft Research, China, will =
initially=20
focus on how people interact with computers. "Long-term, we want to =
enable=20
computers to see, listen, speak and learn," said Kai-Fu Lee, a =
Microsoft=20
researcher who will head up the program in China.